This invention relates to the recording and playing back of a video stream. A video stream includes any combination of audio and/or video data streams.
Video streams have typically been recorded on analog media such as a video cassette. A video cassette recorder (VCR) is used to record the video stream on the video cassette. The video stream may arrive via a broadcast signal, via cable, via satellite signal, or from another video playback device. Once the video stream has been recorded, the VCR is used to rewind the recording medium and play what was recorded. However, due to the nature of the analog medium, once the VCR has started recording, it is not possible to play back the portion of the video stream that has already been recorded until the recording session is terminated.
Ancillary information, such as program sub-titles, emergency messages, closed caption messages, and program guide information, may be transmitted along with regular television content. More recently, other types of ancillary information that may be sent with television content include enhancement data such as Web pages, multimedia information, or other digital data files. Ancillary information may be sent in the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of an analog television broadcast signal or may be sent with digital television content over a digital transmission transport medium.
Various standards exist that provide for transmission of ancillary information along with television content. One standard is the Advanced Television Enhancement Forum (ATVEF) Specification, Draft Version 1.1r26, dated Feb. 2, 1999. The ATVEF specification provides for transmission of enhancement data along with television content in both analog and digital systems, such as cable systems, satellite systems, terrestrial systems, and so forth.
There is a need for an improved way of recording portions of a video transmission containing enhanced content.